Doc

That's kind of on the order of what I had in mind. I'm a bit concerned about using trees as an anchor though. There has been a lot of recent beaver work over there ..... lol. I am envisioning checking the cameras and finding just a stump and a few wood chips and no camera. That would be a bit irritating...lol. I'm thinking of staking it all down with some heavy wire. I am thinking now that I might use painted styrofoam for flotation. I was going to use some 3" PVC pipe (or larger) capped off to make mini-pontoons but today I went to Lowes and looked closer at that stuff and it has very thick walls and weighs a ton. I was surprised. Hopefully this would all just be a safety design since the whole thing would be set high and dry on the bank. but sometimes we get some rather sudden rises in water level so I'm just trying to be safe. I want the pictures to be at ground lever and not up in a tree looking down.

Ok ...... let's try these out just to be a wise-guy .....lol. Scenario #1: I am standing in my garage shooting my bow at a butt that is less than 500 feet (perhaps even within a few feet) from a neighbors house. Am I legal? I fired from inside my own building (which I guess we have determined is legal), but the arrow winds up within the illegal zone around my neighbors house. Scenario #2: How about if my garage is within 500 feet of the neighbors house and I am practicing inside my garage. I have just shot my bow within 500' of the neighbors house but everything was contained within my own building. Did I break the law?

I have seen several designs of deer-proof fencing. That's probably what they use.

I'm going to start doodling around and trying to design a lightweight, compact, floatable camera mount. I want a camera mount that is close to the ground For the little critters (like muskrats, mink, beavers, coon, etc.), and will go up with the water level if flooding occurs. So, I got this idea for a small camera mount that I will set up along the creek bank, or along some of the beaver channels, and design in some form of mini-pontoon system that can be staked down with a length of cable so that if the water rises up a couple of feet above ground level (which happens often during sudden snow run-off conditions or big flooding thunderstorms), the whole thing will just rise along with the water without drowning the camera. I'm thinking something small and light and maybe even collapsible. We never get a whole lot of current, so that's not a concern. The water level just goes up and down unexpectedly at times. I'll see if there is anything I can conjure up.

I really do love these pictures. It all brings back great memories of my days as a kid trapping muskrats. And I've got to say that is one heck of a camera you have there. It does a great job.

I guess I can't really swear that there is any bait there that an owl would be interested in. As far as I know they are not attracted to minerals and such. I will say that there appears to be some kind of junk in the picture that doesn't look too natural but I have no idea what it is. However, just looking at the two pictures and considering the composition and coloration of each, there is no question that the artistic quality of the heron picture is much greater. Also, the addition of the fish does add interest to the whole picture. I have to agree that you should have won the contest. Maybe it was the "owl-guy's" uncle that was doing the judging ..... lol.

Most of what you are saying here I totally agree with. However, this idea of spending 8 forum pages bashing some 16 year old kid is something that doesn't sit too well with me (whether I open the thread or not). I have to wonder what kind of mentality gets a kick out of doing something like that. I suspect that he got the message after the first couple of pages? Anything beyond that is simply mean-spirited piling-on. This kind of stuff between adults is one thing, but I really don't like seeing kids treated this way. And not opening the thread doesn't really change any of that.

So I wonder how they keep the deer from eating all their stuff up ...... lol.

Maybe that's not really a night picture, but just a condition of the shadows that set off the flash. Look at the upper left corner. Those trees or bushes seem to indicate daylight. I kind of wondered about that too because I have always understood that they were a "daytime" bird. At any rate, it is one heck of a picture.

I wonder if the quote wasn't lifted out of context. Frankly I think the wording of that little clip was intended to show the hypocracy of the animal rights bunch..... and it does a very good job of that.

Actually I think it evolved into a very interesting and instructive thread. We often mistakenly feel that we hunters and gun owners form a united front against those that would harrass or deprive us of our 2nd amendment rights. This thread has straightened out that misconception and points out the actual real possibilities of the original premise of the topic and where that threat is surprisingly likely to come from.

If you expect to be needing it a lot, $600 isn't all that bad. You might even be able to find something used for even less.

I guess that's pretty closely related to the L-50 that I just bought for just a bit more money. They have come along way with the quality for the money.

Look, I have decades of seeing the reasoning behind someone who would use such terminology. I have watched the Brady bunch and the Schumers and the Boxers and all the other zealots that would call gun owners the "gun rights crowd". And there is no doubt in my mind just who and what is the problem. Using such terminology displays a complete contempt with anyone who values thier 2nd amendment rights, not just a little minor dispute and disagreement here and there. There are those who believe the answer to every problem in society is to regulate the law-abiding. And no, I "can't for a minute see the reasoning why" anyone would adopt that line of logic. Personally I find it repugnant and a true hazard to a free society.

really ....... 6 pages bashing some kid? I think maybe we should stop and think a bit about that.

I hate to state the obvious, but this term "gun rights crowd" that you guys are spitting out with such disdain happens to be the hunters and gun owners of this country who believe that law abiding citizens do not deserve to become the targets of misguided over zealous gunbanners or those who would endeavor to harrass legitimate gun owners from the legal pursuits that involve gun ownership and use. I stand firmly with that "gun rights crowd" and look with particular distrust at anyone who finds the gun owners of America to be their enemy.

That's a real good question. It probably would hinge on what the penalty was for illegal possession. How many people would be willing to go to prison for gun ownership? How many people would leave themselves vulnerable to fines that might place kid's college education funds or retirement resources at risk? And if such a law were to be passed, is it a thing that you could fight by simply breaking the law? How effective would that tactic actually be? Yes you could seal them up in your wall, or bury them in a strong box out in the back yard, but what would that prove? Owning a gun that you can't use is kind of a silly thing that proves nothing. The only way would be to comply and fight them in the courts. But I would say that even if such a law got overturned, the damage would be done and a majority of ex-gun owners would likely never re-purchase their lost guns. And you can't force the government to return destroyed guns. So I guess, we had just better make sure that it never happens. And the best way to do that is to stay organized and keep that NRA membership current.

That TIP DEC is probably something that all hunters should be using. It seems like there is some extreme financial hardships with the DEC these days that is making the law enforcement branch all but totally ineffective. Yes, they do make some occasional high-profile, highly publicized, enforcement campaigns, but they are really too infrequent, in a too localized area to have much of an impact on poacher activities. Really, how many COs have you actually seen more than a few feet from their car? There's a reason for that. They know that that is the best way to reach the greatest number of law-breakers with the least amount of resources expended. However I don't imagine for a second that just about everyone understands the limitations that they have. And there are some that take advantage of those limitations. So, if we witness a violation, or know of some illegal activity going on, we probably should be lending a hand here.

I suppose it stands to reason that if the weather is such that natural sources of food are still available, they won't be as dependant on feeders. Also, with temps and weather conditions being so mild, they don't have the same level of caloric needs.

Pretty tough to pick one. The quality of both seem to be comparable. Probably from a contest standpoint, I would pick the heron pic. It just seems to be a bit more detailed and interesting.

I would consider checking with one of these rental places to see if you can rent a posthole digger for your tractor. If you are doing a bunch of them, that is the only way to go. And unless you see this as an on-going activity, it really doesn't pay to buy one. They're not very cheap. We already had a digger that went on the back of my Ford 8N. It made the job very easy. As far as how the holes are back-filled, I never put anything back but the dirt that came out of the hole. I can understand the idea of using gravel, but where I was putting the fence, that wouldn't have been a very practical thing to even consider. I'll tell you what the grape farmers do. They now have a device that mounts on the back of a tractor called a post pounder that simply drives the posts into the ground like a pile-driver. It works pretty darn slick. Of course it would have to work well when you consider how many posts those guys put in. That eliminates all digging and back filling and puts in a very solid post. If you have any grape farmers in the area, you might try renting their services for an afternoon. I'm not sure if they would do it for you or not but it might be worth a try. I put in another section of fence of "driven" posts where I used purchased creosoted cedar posts from Agway. I drove those in by hand with a post mall. Now that was a job.....lol. That's not something that I would be even considering or recommending today. That wasn't fun.

I have only seen one in our area in my entire life. I believe that even if there was an open season on them, that I would not take something that is so extremely rare in our area. By the way, I am curious as to what the procedure is for releasing a bobcat from a trap. That has to be kind of a fun thing to watch.....lol.

He's healthy looking because he ate up all of my yews! He also trimmed up our Rhodedendrun (sp?) for us. He knows where all the good stuff is ....... lol. Notice how terrified he is of the scents and sounds around the house and cars. These guys have a calendar and a hunting syllabus, and know when it's safe around the homestead. I also noted that there was no sign of him being alarmed by the flash. He was too busy concentrating on eating my stuff ..... lol. I am very happy with the picture quality. Remembering that we are talking about a $70 camera, I think it will serve my purposes just fine. Perhaps it could be a bit more sharper, but those pictures are "as taken" with no post-processing done to them. A little color correction and increased contrast, and I think they will turn out pretty good.

Sounds like a massive project. I don't envy you with that pruning saw on locust trees. I have seen good chainsaws dull up in nothing flat on that stuff.

Good question ..... lol. You can't get much closer to an occupied building than right inside of it.